I'm actually Luke's manager and I was with him in germany when he showed me the thread you guys were originally being unreasonable on. Nice to know it has spread here - keep up the work guys - it's free promo for us - jokes on you!

Whilst I'm in China having a wicked time eating incredible food (not dog) and drinking beer, you're posting pictures of old men and their dicks on an internet forum, probably sat in your parents' living room. Bad times.

(i realise that isn't luke on stage, but apparently it didn't exactly fill up between acts...)

i think about 5 people paid in. and he's playing in China?

LOL

i wouldn't have posted that, because i'm normally not a cunt, but he's been quite the loser on DiS in the last few days, and comments like

"Whilst I'm in China having a wicked time eating incredible food (not dog) and drinking beer, you're posting pictures of old men and their dicks on an internet forum, probably sat in your parents' living room. Bad times."

make me laugh when he can't get a hand full of people to a gig a couple of hundred miles from where he lives, yet he's the otherside of the world claiming his busking holiday is actually some crazy all expenses paid world tour.

I think you need to scroll up and see all the ridiculous posts with links to pictures. When people become this annoying and stupid, it's hard not to say something. Besides, he's said one or two mildy harsh comments as opposed to people calling him a cunt. Let's be fair here.

Also, if an artist at one gig doesn't fill a room in one country, you're telling me he wouldn't fill a room in another? How more wrong can you be about the way people's careers work on a global scale. Luke, for example is a big deal in Russia, China and Japan with all expenses paid to touring in all those countries and a record deal in Japan with one of their most prestigious labels

Maybe you don't realise, but for alot of artists this is their career/aspiring career and it entails more than just writing and playing music. One other thing it also involves is keeping fans up to date with what he is doing. There are many reasons, essentially from a business perspective why this is important and I'm not going to waste my time saying what they are. Ironically, you are aiding one of them.

I'm a massive fan of silver mt zion, do you know how often they update their fans? Like, once in a (thirteenth) blue moon. But I still love them and they still care about their fans, they just choose not be self-indulgent and tell everyone about everything that happens on tour. There are plenty more bands who recieve enormous loyalty from their fans who very rarely update them or make enormous blog posts. They just make good music, play good shows and are good people.

I saw you quoted the Kate Nash comparisons, along with some negative press from Drownedinsound.com on your myspace. Are you quite happy, then to take the rough with the smooth in terms of press coverage?

LL: The thing about that Drownedinsound stuff is that, when they ripped into me, it went massive on the forums and got loads of people to listen to me. I don’t really care if they don’t like me, because I don’t really like anything they put on Drownedinsound. Any publicity is good publicity.

**********************

I also like the bit about illegal downloads in Russia. Enlightening stuff.

I wasn't aware he was such an arse head. I'm having a great time in china eating so and so whilst you're doing this and that with a few pictures... this is clearly him being an instigating little prick, kind of like when you a kid intentionally pisses their parents off to get some attention, him and his manager are just riling for more attention because let's face it, his music doesn't warrant it, the fact that he's a bit of a bell end and not afraid to 'bite' back might do though. here's an idea, let him be and he'll go away, just like Puddle Of Mudd, everyone hated them then no one cared and they went away, haha he is a finicky little twat though isn't he?

Imagine if I'd have gone to a living room gig without being warned beforehand. Now I'll know to stockpile my excuses should the unlikely scenario of being invited to a lukeleighfield-pianofest-living-room-extravaganza ever arise.

"Whilst I'm in China having a wicked time eating incredible food (not dog) and drinking beer, you're posting pictures of old men and their dicks on an internet forum, probably sat in your parents' living room. Bad times."

completely misses the point, we are on dis cos we enjoy having a right jolly silly time with pictures. location is irrelevant - that's why i love the internet. i would either be posting in this or i would be posting in a different topic, it's not as if i specifically took time out of my day in order to come on here.

the two tabs i have in firefox are facebook and this, i think this is a better use of my time.

unless i've missed something, this thread has consisted of these things

1. you posting links to your real blog
2. us posting links to funny stuff
3. us arguing about this

i haven't seen anyone saying that your music is good, even the people defending you have mostly said it is shit. becausse your music is shit, we are having a laugh, you're just helping us by posting more links AS IF ANYONE CARES ABOUT THE REAL BLOG

i just have to say that you're probably a really nice guy but your music is still shit. sorry.

I am not a fan either, but he has a point.
You're all poking fun at him but his music has taken him to China, at least 25 people are willing to pay him £25 to join his fan club, there are a good few other people who do like it even if we don't and he puts a lot of time and effort into it, regardless of what some people think of the outcome.
So why give him constant shit about it?

Him and his manager have slagged Drowned In Sound off on several occasions, on this site and off it. So to come back to it to publicise his music is foolish and contradictory, right?

He says things like "Whilst I'm in China having a wicked time eating incredible food (not dog) and drinking beer, you're posting pictures of old men and their dicks on an internet forum, probably sat in your parents' living room. Bad times". Apparently above people who aren't in bands.

It's a stupid, stupid thing to defend your music on the internet, and futile. One day (but hopefully not) he might be big enough that he can't check up on everything that's written about him.

He slags off Kate Nash quite frequently, with seemingly no self awareness. If he's happy to dish it out, he should expect to have to take it. I like Kate Nash.

He charges his fans £25 for a fan club which he then doesn't follow through on.

CHINA: it's pretty stupid to suggest that it's anything but my music which has taken me to China. Why would someone put themselves out to book me a tour if they didn't enjoy my music? It's not a big earner for either party - the booker is taking a risk putting on an unknown UK artist (if the shows make a loss, then he personally makes a loss), and I don't make any money besides the CDs I sell, but you don't really sell many in China because people prefer to get it all illegally. All I get is free food, travel once within China, and hotels. I have to fund my own flights with the fees I get in Germany and Russia. It's pretty ignorant to suggest that people only like my music out here because I'm white and from the UK. Undoubtedly there is an additional allure because I'm from a foreign country, but no more than if you go and watch an American band in the UK.

Maybe the label I've gone out with isn't 'cool' because every other band on it is pop punk, but the label that I'm releasing on in Japan in the new year is the same one that released Jeremy Warmsley's album this year. Yes, I emailed them first rather than letting them find me, but should I be condemned for facilitating things like this with my work ethic? Is it 'cooler' or more acceptable to wait for offers to come through? If that's the case then right now I'd be sitting watching Home Alone in England in my living room because the Chinese booker would never have found me had I not emailed him.

anyone wants to give you shit for getting of your arse and getting shows everywhere and getting stuff released - fair play, you're miles ahead of my music project, which exists solely in my head at the moment.

I've only dipped in twice now, but you just seem to be repeating about how you're responding to all the mail you get. It would be nice to have some sort depth to what you're doing, y'know, like an actual insight in to the experience, the sense of place.

Ah, who am i trying to kid, you're lame, and you've got a bad attitude.

i think most of us are saying 'haha we are actually having a great laugh on here despite not being on tour like you' in response to his comments about us being in our parents houses and posting on the internets etc.

as it happens i'm sitting next to my mother right now in the kitchen. time for more tea.

is that I was getting knocked for getting off my arse and doing something, whilst the people saying that stuff were probably sat at home leeching off their parents. As for the blog, I would love to write more about the cities but thus far we've been travelling big distances most of the day and not really seeing much beyond the venue and train station. Tomorrow we have a day off so I'll see what I can conjure up!

imagine if luke leighfields record company was shipping him off to china so he can be assassinated without news reaching england. They'll make it look like an accident because they all think he's gay. Imagine that.

It's weak and cowardly the way you are all behaving. You're having a field day because It is one of the rare chances a bunch of people can get together and effectively bully someone to their ''face'' with only the barrier of the internet to hide them, knowing Luke can't really say anything back as he is the artist and has to take any criticism. Anything he does say to defend himself in a manner which is nowhere near as harsh as most of the things said on here is seen as him being a twat. It's like a consumer abusing their power over an employee of a shop, which, if you have ever worked in retail will know is the worst thing ever. Its pathetic. Grow up.

do you get taught how to handle situations like this on your uni course?

also: genuine, not really related question: what percentage of luke's songs would you say are about how he's a singer songwriter and stuff? i know all songs are to some degree "about" the act of songwriting, but i mean specifically songs about playing piano and touring and stuff?

This is a forum for people to discuss music. If someone wants to bring up an especially good blog post by someone they will post it and people will discuss it. But just because this place exists it doesn't give you or Luke carte blanche to use it as another place to get hits.

You see, that's the problem with your holier-than-thou posturing: it's utter bollocks. You're posting this here because the site has 100,000s of people visiting every day and is Google'd to FUCK and you want to make sure the name Luke Leighfield is everywhere, which is fine, but if you go into marketing don't be surprised when the results from outside your target market aren't impressed.

If you'd done any RESEARCH you would have found out that any form of self-promotion beyond on this forum beyond the most self-effacing is ruthlessly belittled and dealt with; try this on other, more rigidly controlled forums, and your thread would quickly be shut down. No one likes spam and even from Leighfield himself, this is nothing more than spam.

This is word-of-mouth marketing going more right than I could ask for- this has been the top thread now on drownedinsound for now 7 days. It is gaining him a huge amount of publicity and hits and word is spreading - countless people are calling me up asking if I have seen this 'thread on drownedinsound about Luke leighfield'. WOMMA would be impressed.

My 'research' on the online music world has spanned over being in two signed bands and managing two artists as well as having worked in marketing for years now and of course I know how this sort of thread would be dealt with here as opposed to elsewhere. Everyone is carrying on this thread because they know they can on here. This is only spam if you don't want this. The fact it's the most popular thread means it's anything but spam for many people.

Thanks for the concern about our outside target market - it won't be a problem!

It's a matter of perspective from what the artist wants out of this. If he wants to jostle with X-Factor contestants for seeing his name in lights, then this is all great I'm sure. For all the talk of 'no such thing as bad publicity' however; his (and your) words in this thread would suggest otherwise, since you've already turned on the people you're trying to appeal to.

From my perspective, I'm yet to listen to any of this guy's music and already there's a horrid taste in my mouth about it.

and hearing from hugely successful music industry people who have enjoyed great results with other hugely successful bands and therefore know far more about it all than us.
I can see it now: Kings of Leon and their record label are sitting around in the boardroom saying 'how are we going to get this band the recognition they deserve? NME? Radio One airplay?'

'Wait....I've got it. How about we get them completely ridiculed on an internet forum where just about everybody thinks they're completely shit?'

if people are listening to luke's music as a result of this and enjoying it and maybe buying stuff, that's great. there's nothing better than an artist connecting with people who love their art. i just find his music hilarious though

You can't have this both ways. First you say that you want us to stop ripping into him and then you say that you like the publicity. Which is it to be? If there wasn't any ridicule then this thread would never have taken off.

Boring songwriter with an ego far outweighing his talent + annoying 'tour manager' who is clearly no more than just one of his fanclub who said he'd butter his toast for him when he goes away + a strange determination to tell a whole load of people who don't like him exactly what he's been doing every day = exactly what DIS was invented for...

This is all a bit mental eh? Still, my vote's with this Luke guy. China is ace, and his songs sound quite cheerful, if a little annoying. He has an insane schedule, mind! The distances this man is covering to play these shows are truly epic. Spare him a thought as well, as it's bloody freezing in Northern China at this time of year. He is playing in some cool venues though. I saw some Mongolian throat singers in Yugong Yishan a few months ago, which was pretty class.

"I looked at some Converse and Vans, and it was largely the same price as England, but sort of more in comparison because the minimum wage over here is a lot less than in the UK. Paul reckoned that some people only earn 40 Yuan a day, which is about £4, whereas we earn £5 an hour or something like that. Crazy."

"I don't think I like eggplant. The texture was a bit ew. I also got a bit of fishbone stuck in my throat for ages. It hurt like a bitch."

"The seats were smaller than normal, but everyone is a bit thinner and shorter in China anyway."

Before reading the numerous Luke Leighfield threads, I'd never heard his music and thus wasn't sure if the piss taking was necessary. Then I went on his myspace: haahahahahahaahahahahahaha jesus FUCK he's awful. Seriously one of the worst things I've ever heard.

first, autocratic monarchy and near feudalism, then tyrannical communism followed by a headfirst rush into the worst excesses of capitalism as an unholy alliance of gangsters and corrupt government officials seize hold of the oil and gas industry ( becoming overnight billionaires in the process), whilst the majority suffer and then they have to put up with a Luke Leighfield tour.

first, autocratic monarchy and near feudalism, then tyrannical communism followed by a headfirst rush into the worst excesses of capitalism as an unholy alliance of gangsters and corrupt government officials seize hold of the oil and gas industry ( becoming overnight billionaires in the process), whilst the majority suffer and then they have to put up with a Luke Leighfield tour.

first, autocratic monarchy and near feudalism, then tyrannical communism followed by a headfirst rush into the worst excesses of capitalism as an unholy alliance of gangsters and corrupt government officials seize hold of the oil and gas industry ( becoming overnight billionaires in the process), whilst the majority suffer and then they have to put up with a Luke Leighfield tour.